Barry Lyga's Blog: The BLog, page 12

Read the first Four chapters of TIME WILL TELL!

Just like the headline says: Time Will Tell lands on bookshelves on September 28, but you can get started with it now with a sampler of the first four chapters.

Download the PDF here!

And should you then feel compelled to preorder the book, you can do so here: Amazon | Apple | BN.com | Indiebound | Kobo

A Tale of Two Barrys, Part 2

Last time, I talked about how I was brought on-board to write The Flash trilogy and how I littered the books with pointless-but-amazing Easter eggs.1 Now let’s talk about how the second trilogy, Crossover Crisis, came to be.

When I was wrapping up The Tornado Twins, I had an inkling that there might be some interest in continuing the story, so I left things open. I also wrote an epilogue that would explicitly set up a new adventure. At the time that Book 3 had to go to the printer, though, Abrams and the CW had not yet decided if there would be more books, so I removed the epilogue. For the curious, here it is:

EPILOGUE
[DESIGN: WHITE TEXT ON BLACK, IF POSSIBLE, PLEASE — THANKS!]

Go…!

Hurry…! Time is running short…

Warn the Flash!

Find Supergirl!

The Curtain is falling! The great void arises…!

RUN!!!!

As you can see, there wasn’t much to it — it was just a teaser to get people to come back “next season,” like a post-credits sequence. My plan was to pay homage to the Arrowverse’s crossovers by having Supergirl show up in the next trilogy.

Anyway, shortly after the book went to press, I received another phone call from Andrew Smith, telling me that it turns out there would be another trilogy…only this time I would get to use all of the characters from all of the CW shows!2

My original plan wasn’t big enough for that cast, so I was glad that we scrapped the epilogue!

I had by now more than earned the confidence of the studio, so I could really let my freak flag fly. Plus, by this time, the CW shows had all crossed over into the massive, sprawling Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline. The original comic was an enormous source of fun Easter eggs and continuity porn; the TV show built on that with references to almost every DC live-action series and movie ever, including a spoileriffic wink and nod to the current DCEU movies.

I had to bring my A-game.

I plotted out a madcap adventure through space, time, and alternate dimensions. I brought in the whole damn Crime Syndicate of America to harry Earth-1 in the very first book. Just to show I meant business, I also threw in 10,000 brand-new speedsters. And…

Yes.

Ambush Bug.

Because I have no shame and absolutely no self-restraint.

I knew that this would probably be my last hurrah, that there would be no further trilogies after this one. So I wanted go out with a bang. (And with Ambush Bug’s whoopee cushion…)

If you’ve read this post, you know I’ve always loved the Crime Syndicate of America, so I made them the centerpiece of the first book in the new trilogy, the colon-heavy The Flash: Crossover Crisis: Book 1: Green Arrow’s Perfect Shot. I had them absolutely dominate in a pitched battle on the streets of Central City, as a devastating breach looms, within which awaits an even more powerful foe: Anti-Matter Man.3

Yeah, he’s goofy-looking as all hell, but I had him responsible for utterly wiping out Earth-27. (Hey, I created it — I’m allowed to destroy it!)

I got to continue my story from The Tornado Twins, with a Barry who is a little wiser and a lot more optimistic following his trip(s) into the future(s). And I got to play that off against the darker characters from Arrow, using folks like Felicity and Mr. Terrific and Wild Dog, in addition to Oliver, of course.

When the second book, Supergirl’s Sacrifice, came along, the cast grew even more. It was starting to feel a little overwhelming, honestly, but I think managed to juggle it all without dropping anything or breaking anything. Plus, I got to live out a childhood dream by putting words in the mouth of the Man of Steel. Holy crap.

That book also included a subplot in which Cisco and Mr. Terrific are hurled back in time to the Wild West, meaning I got to play with some of DC’s classic Western heroes: “Pow-Wow” Smith and Madame .44. This led to what might be my favorite exchange in all six books:

I’m also particularly proud of this little bit, in which Kara reflects on what it actually feels like to be in telepathic communication with someone…

One of my favorite aspects of this particular book was working in references to classic comic book moments and concepts. I had the heroes gather at Superman’s old underground lab in Smallville, for example, and even referenced his Superboy robots.

The final book, The Legends of Forever, has just come out, so I don’t want to say too much about it. It is replete with near-toxic levels of geekery and in-jokes, Easter eggs a-plenty and more obscure references than you can shake a stick at!

It also begins with a monologue from the Phantom Stranger, mimicking the old splash pages in that character’s comics…

If you want to know some of my favorite moments from this final book, go check it out!

Thanks for joining me on this trip down memory lane. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading these books as much as I’ve enjoyed writing them!

A Tale of Two Barrys

I meant to publish this post on the day my final Flash book landed on bookshelves both real and virtual, but that ugly thing called Life got in the way. Anyway, here are some ruminations on two Barrys — Barry Allen and yours truly…

I’ve been a Flash fan my whole life, but my journey into the Arrowverse began in late 2016 with Andrew Smith (publisher at Abrams Books). Andrew and I had worked together a bit when he was at Little Brown — he was the guy who made it his mission in life to get I Hunt Killers on the bestseller lists…and he succeeded!

A few years later, he was the Big Cheese at Abrams. He called me one day and, after some pleasantries, said, “We just signed a deal to publish middle-grade novels based on the CW Flash TV show–”

“I’m in,” I told him. “How much do I have to pay you?”

After assuring me that, in fact, Abrams would pay me (what???), it was a done-deal. Three books, to be approved by the CW. I wrote up an outline, bound and determined to do things in prose that a TV budget would prohibit.

A year later, the first book hit. I felt like I really needed to prove that I could write “on model,” so I did my best to keep the characters and situations as close to the TV show as possible. Still, I dropped in some fun stuff, like using Madame Xanadu and the super-obscure villain Earthworm, as well as references to Pink Floyd that the target audience wouldn’t get…but their parents would.

I also put in this joke, which I can’t believe no one pulled…

 

For the second book, Johnny Quick, I wanted to have Barry travel to the villainous Earth Three of my childhood comics, a world where good guys were bad and bad guys were good. But the TV show had its own, different version of Earth Three. So… I did what any geek would do: I cubed the number three and invented Earth-27, which was now my evil Earth.

I’m really happy with the way the second book turned out. I was feeling pretty confident in my ability to write the characters, so I branched out and strayed a bit from the show. I even got to introduce the Phantom Stranger, though I never called him that…

I was also really proud of the swerve in Book Two, where I made it seem pretty obvious who the villainous Johnny Quick was…and then did something that they probably wouldn’t be able to pull off on the show, purely due to actor availability. (And yes, I’m being deliberately coy here so as to avoid spoilers.)

By the third book, The Tornado Twins, I went all out. I sent Barry into the far future, not merely to the 31st century (where he met the titular twins), but also to the 64th century. Two futures, both of them incredibly far-flung, and it was a blast! At this point, I was dropping a metric ton of Easter eggs and in-jokes into the story. For example, Barry goes to get his costume repaired and witnesses the origin of Bouncing Boy…

The origin of Bouncing Boy, from the comics (left), and in my book (right).

Why? Why did I feel the need to reproduce (down to the goofy double exclamation points!!) the origin of a minor hero from 1968 in my book?

Well, because I could, that’s why!

Look, half the fun (maybe more than half) of writing a series like The Flash is getting to play in the sandbox with all the toys. It’s not just me saying this — I didn’t invent Easter eggs. The people who make the TV show(s) are in on the fun, too, with all sorts of references, callbacks, and in-jokes scattered throughout the seasons. It’s a geek tradition…and a pleasure! And the more obscure the reference, the bigger your geek mojo.

So, when it came time to bring the first trilogy to a big conclusion, I just had to do it in true fanboy style, with a reference that — thus far — no one has called out.

Here’s the setup: In the 64th century, Barry battles the insane techno-magician, Abra Kadabra. Kadabra uses his mind-control ability to compel Barry to stand in one spot so that Kadabra can zap him into oblivion. Barry can’t run away and he can’t vibrate, and a beam of deadly light is headed his way.

So he stays in the same spot, but spins at tremendous velocity, using the friction-heat to bend the light beam back to Kadabra:

Where did that idea come from? Well…

https://barrylyga.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/flash_heat.mp4

Yeah, I wrote an entire trilogy to build to a moment cribbed from a cartoon I watched as a seven-year-old in 1978. If that doesn’t make me King of Nerds, I don’t know what will!

Come back tomorrow for the inside scoop on the second trilogy, Crossover Crisis!

 

Cover Reveal: The Legends of Forever

On March 23, 2021, the universe will end.

Don’t panic — not this universe. (At least, I don’t think so!) I’m talking about the “Barryverse,” the alternate reality version of the Arrowverse that lives in my six-part series of Flash novels. The final book in the Crossover Crisis series hits on that day, and it’s titled The Legends of Forever.

Check out that amazing cover, featuring eight (count ’em, eight!) heroes from the Arrowverse!

Here’s the description:

The Legends of Tomorrow enter the fray in this epic conclusion to the Crossover Crisis trilogy

The Flash and his friends have defeated Anti-Matter Man, but the race to save the multiverse is far from over. As a threat looms large at the end of Time itself, Barry, his Kryptonian allies, and the Green Arrow seek help from the leading experts on time travel, the Legends of Tomorrow. Meanwhile, Cisco has been taken by a mysterious figure—and Owlman’s plans for Madame Xanadu come to a thrilling head. Picking right up where Supergirl’s Sacrifice left off, this action-packed adventure brings the Crossover Crisis to a dramatic conclusion beyond the end of the universe.

Yikes — maybe the universe really is going to end!

Cover Reveal: The Legends of Tomorrow

On March 23, 2021, the universe will end.

Don’t panic — not this universe. (At least, I don’t think so!) I’m talking about the “Barryverse,” the alternate reality version of the Arrowverse that lives in my six-part series of Flash novels. The final book in the Crossover Crisis series hits on that day, and it’s titled The Legends of Forever.

Check out that amazing cover, featuring eight (count ’em, eight!) heroes from the Arrowverse!

Here’s the description:

The Legends of Tomorrow enter the fray in this epic conclusion to the Crossover Crisis trilogy

The Flash and his friends have defeated Anti-Matter Man, but the race to save the multiverse is far from over. As a threat looms large at the end of Time itself, Barry, his Kryptonian allies, and the Green Arrow seek help from the leading experts on time travel, the Legends of Tomorrow. Meanwhile, Cisco has been taken by a mysterious figure—and Owlman’s plans for Madame Xanadu come to a thrilling head. Picking right up where Supergirl’s Sacrifice left off, this action-packed adventure brings the Crossover Crisis to a dramatic conclusion beyond the end of the universe.

Yikes — maybe the universe really is going to end!

Cover Reveal: TIME WILL TELL

As we head into the weekend, here’s a little something to kick things off in style: The cover to my new YA intergenerational murder mystery, Time Will Tell.

Great work by Chris Koehler and Jenny Kimura!

Time Will Tell hits bookshelves in September 2021. Here’s a description:

A young-adult thriller ricocheting between our present and the bigotry of the past as teens unravel their parents’ secrets. Perfect for fans of One of Us is Lying.

Four teens have dug up the time capsule that their parents buried in 1986 and never bothered to recover. But in addition to the expected ephemera of mixtapes, Walkmans, photographs, letters, toys, and assorted junk, Elayah, Liam, Marcie, and Jorja discover something sinister: a hunting knife stained with blood and wrapped with a note. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to kill anyone.”

As the action dramatically alternates between the present day and 1986, the mystery unfolds and the sins of the past echo into today. The teens haven’t just unearthed a time capsule: they’ve also dug up pain and secrets that someone—maybe one of their own parents—is willing to kill for.

Recommended Reading, 2020 Edition

I always try to read as much as possible, of course. Over the past few years, it’s been tough to find the time, as work and kids have conspired to bleed away much of my free time.

Strangely, this pandemic year has somehow made it easier for me to read. I’m not sure why. Maybe the chaos of the outside world has sent me scurrying to my old friends, books, for comfort. Or maybe I’ve just re-aligned my priorities, as so many of us have.

In any event, of the dozens of books I’ve read this year, here are the seven very best, each of them great for their own reasons, each of them a great read, listed below in no particular order…

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
How I Became a Famous Novelist by Steve Hely
Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt Collection by Kieron Gillen
The Accidental Time Machine by Joe Haldeman
The Fold by Peter Clines
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab
The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson

Enjoy your reading!

(Photo by Caio from Pexels)

Interviews: Spooky MG & Facebook Live

Today is the book birthday for Don’t Turn Out the Lights, an anthology homage to Alvin Schwartz’s famous Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books. Editor Jonathan Maberry asked me to contribute a story, so I was happy to offer up “Copy and Paste Kill,” a quick little horror yarn that might just make you afraid to touch your keyboard!

I spoke with Jonathan and contributors R. L. Stine, D. J. MacHale, Jamie Ford, and Linda Addison on Facebook Live. The video of that interview is embedded right after this very paragraph!

And then fellow contributor Kim Ventrella interviewed a few of us on her site, Spooky MG. Go check it out! And when you’re done there, get the book at all usual places.

Amazon | Apple Books | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org | Indiebound | Kobo

Coming this Fall: A New Short Story!

Remember those Alvin Schwartz horror anthologies from the 90s? Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and others like it?

Well, there’s a tribute anthology coming out this fall, titled Don’t Turn Out the Lights, and yours truly is a part of it!

My short horror tale “Copy and Paste Kill” will be part of the anthology, which lands on September 1, 2020!

Here’s the official scoop:

Featuring stories from R.L. Stine and Madeleine Roux, this middle grade horror anthology, curated by New York Times best-selling author and master of macabre Jonathan Maberry, is a chilling tribute to Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.

Flesh-hungry ogres? Brains full of spiders? Haunted houses you can’t escape? This collection of 35 terrifying stories from the Horror Writers Association has it all, including ghastly illustrations from Iris Compiet that will absolutely chill listeners to the bone.

So turn off your lamps, click on your flashlights, and prepare – if you dare – to be utterly spooked!

The complete list of writers: Linda D. Addison, Courtney Alameda, Jonathan Auxier, Gary A. Braunbeck, Z Brewer, Aric Cushing, John Dixon, Tananarive Due, Jamie Ford, Kami Garcia, Christopher Golden, Tonya Hurley, Catherine Jordan, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Alethea Kontis, N.R. Lambert, Laurent Linn, Amy Lukavics, Barry Lyga, D.J. MacHale, Josh Malerman, James A. Moore, Michael Northrop, Micol Ostow, Joanna Parypinksi, Brendan Reichs, Madeleine Roux, R.L. Stine, Margaret Stohl, Gaby Triana, Luis Alberto Urrea, Rosario Urrea, Kim Ventrella, Sheri White, T.J. Wooldridge, Brenna Yovanoff.

Interview: Annie’s Book Stop

I spoke with the folks at Annie’s Book Stop of Worcester about my career in general, where I write, and similar things. I said stuff like:

Bookstores! Online! Probably in 50¢ bins at yard sales in a cul-de-sac near you!

And:

I’m all over the map, and I love it that way.

Plus, I reveal the best advice I’ve ever received as a writer! Go check it out.